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In the latest case, the four-year-old Fletcher twins were awarded different primary schools, despite currently attending the same nursery in Doncaster.

Ethan was offered a place at Sunnyfields primary - where the brothers currently attend nursery classes - but Joel will have to go to Rosedale primary two miles away.

The boys' parents, Lee Fletcher, 27, and Victoria Brown, 31, even put their house on the market to move closer to Sunnyfields in anticipation of getting places.

"The council decision makes no sense at all," said Mr Fletcher, a radio station sales assistant.

"I thought siblings went to the same school. It's like we are being penalised for having twins.

"Victoria asked them the question about how they would feel about going to different schools and Ethan turned round and said 'I wouldn't like it mummy'.

"They are lost without each other, they are inseparable. If one is doing one thing they want to know what the other one is up to."

Under existing legislation, infant class sizes are limited to 30 and the local council insist the school received more applications than places.

It said it would need to appoint another teacher to allow it to take 31 pupils.

Officials insisted the twins were separated because the parents lived outside the catchment area when they applied. They have been offered an alternative school for both boys together.

But Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "This is an example of petty officialdom making life difficult for people. I don't think any reasonable person is going to object to a class with 31 pupils in it instead of 30 if it caters for twins.

"For the council to argue that 31 pupils in a class would mean employing an extra teacher is absolute nonsense. It is cruel to split them up like this."

The couple have appealed against the council decision.

Gareth Williams, the council's director of children's services said: "We are not able to meet their request in full. We have already spoken to the family to provide advice on availability of places at alternative schools."

The Twins and Multiple Birth Association said the number of calls to the organisation's helpline over admissions had increased fourfold in recent years.

Mr Balls said: "I'm asking the Schools Adjudicator to look at how we can make crystal clear in guidance that splitting up twins when parents don't want them to be split is the wrong thing to do."